Device for feeding pieces of dough to dough trays of a pre-proofing cabinet

ABSTRACT

Device for feeding pieces of dough to dough trays of a pre-proofing cabinet, provided with a first and a second conveyor belt (5, 6) for continuously conveying pieces (7) of dough in a conveying direction and PCT conveying velocity, which conveyor belts have a dough bearing surface (29) and a driving surface (30), an incoming end an outgoing end at least four driving rolls (15, 16, 17, 18). The device further contains a trolley (24) moving reciprocally in conveying direction from a starting position to a farthest position, on which trolley two driving rolls of the first and the second conveyor belt are mounted. In response to a control signal, the conveying velocity of the second conveyor belt is increased with an additional velocity and subsequently decelerated to the conveying velocity and each time one reciprocating motion of the trolley is started.

The present invention relates to a device for feeding pieces of dough,which have for instance been made on a cambering machine, to dough traysof a pre-proofing cabinet.

A suchlike device that is used to practice comprises a first conveyorwhich conveys the pieces of dough from the cambering machine to a secondconveyor. The second conveyor can be driven intermittently or can have asinusoid conveying velocity. Pieces of dough on the second conveyor arepushed off this by a pusher mechanism in a direction transverse to theconveying direction of the second conveyor into dough trays which areplaced along the second conveyor. The pieces of dough are pushed off thesecond conveyor when the conveying velocity of the second conveyor is atits lowest. With the help of a suchlike device approximately 6000 piecesof dough per hour can be placed in dough trays, without extensive andexpensive additions.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device for feedingpieces of dough to dough trays of a pre-proofing cabinet, with the helpof which 8000 pieces of dough can in a simple manner be fed to doughtrays per hour, the device remaining compact and cheap.

For this purpose the invention provides a device for feeding pieces ofdough to dough trays of a pre-proofing cabinet, which device is providedwith a first conveyor belt for continuously conveying pieces of dough ina conveying direction and at a conveying velocity, which first conveyingbelt has a dough bearing surface, and an opposing driving surface, anincoming end and an outgoing end, which first conveyor belt contains atleast four driving rolls, in which a first of the driving rolls definesthe incoming end and a second of the driving rolls defines the outgoingend, the first and the second driving roll contacting the drivingsurface of the first conveyor belt and lying in one plane, in which athird of the driving rolls lies under the plane and between the firstand second driving rolls and contacts the dough bearing surface of thefirst conveyor belt, in which a fourth of the driving rolls lies beneaththe third driving roll and contacts the driving surface of the firstconveyor belt, the third driving roll being located between the firstand the fourth driving roll, a first driving means for driving at leastone of the driving rolls of the first conveyor belt, a second conveyorbelt for continuously conveying pieces of dough in a conveying directionand at a conveying velocity, which second conveyor belt is placed on theextension of the first conveyor belt, which second conveyor belt has adough bearing surface and an opposing driving surface, an incoming endand an outgoing end, which second conveying belt contains at least fourdriving rolls, in which a first of the driving rolls defines theincoming end and a second of the driving rolls defines the outgoing end,the first and the second driving roll contacting the driving surface ofthe second conveyor belt and are in one plane, in which a third of thedriving rolls lies under the plane and between the first and seconddriving rolls and contacts the dough bearing surface of the secondconveyor belt, in which a fourth of the driving rolls lies beneath thethird driving roll and contacts the driving surface of the secondconveyor belt, the third driving roll being located between the secondand the fourth driving roll, in which the incoming end of the secondconveying belt connects to the outgoing end of the first conveyor belt,a second driving means for driving at least one of the driving rolls ofthe second conveyor belt independant of the drive of the first conveyorbelt, a trolley moving reciprocally in conveying direction from astarting position to a farthest position, on which trolley the secondand the third driving roll of the first conveyor belt and the first andthird driving roll of the second conveyor belt are mounted, a thirddriving means for driving the trolley independant of the drive of theconveyor belts, the second driving means being a driving means forincreasing the conveyor velocity of the second conveyor belt by anadditional velocity in response to a control signal, subsequentlydecelerating it to a standstill or almost to a standstill and thenaccelerating to the conveying velocity, and the third driving meansbeing a driving means for starting one reciprocating motion of thetrolley in response to the control signal. With the help of this devicethe conveying velocity of the second conveyor belt can be increased inresponse to a control signal, whereby the distance between the piece ofdough closest to the incoming end of the second conveyor belt and thatclosest to the outgoing end of the first conveyor belt is enlarged,which is conducive to the reproductive pushing-off of pieces of doughfrom the second conveyor belt. In addition, the trolley can be movedfrom its initial position to its farthest position, so that it isensured that no pieces of dough are placed from the first onto thesecond conveyor belt, while the first conveyor belt can still be drivencontinuously. After deceleration, when the second conveyor belt comes toa stillstand or almost to a stillstand, the determined number of piecesof dough is pushed off the second conveyor belt and the trolley can bemoved to its initial position again, the second conveyor belt ismeanwhile driven again at the same conveying velocity, as a result ofwhich there is an accelerated transfer of pieces of dough from the firstto the second conveyor belt. When the trolley has reached its initialposition again, the following cycle is started in response to thefollowing control signal. Because the conveyor belts are drivencontinuously and because the trolley provides sufficient separationbetween the pieces of dough and sufficient time for a correctpushing-off of pieces of dough on the one hand, and realizes anaccelerated transport of pieces of dough from the first to the secondconveyor belt on the other hand, the capacity of the device isconsiderably upgraded and it is possible to process 8000 pieces of doughor even more per hour. The device according to the invention moreoverensures that there is no contact between the pieces of dough, which isadvantageous for the action of the device and the subsequent doughprocesses. In addition, the inventive device prevents more than onepiece of dough from ending up in a dough tray holder, in other words thedevice is self-rectifiable and does not jam. The determined number ofpieces of dough is moreover presented to the pushing mechanism in aproperly eccentric fashion, so that pushing-off can take placecorrectly. Finally, the device is constructed such that hygienicoperation is ensured.

The control signal can be generated by the pre-proofing cabinet, so thatthe action of the device can be synchronous with the action of thepre-proofing cabinet. The control signal can, alternatively, begenerated by a detection means for detecting a determined number ofpieces of dough on the second conveyor belt.

By way of example a few embodiments of an device according to theinvention will be described on the basis of the drawing, in which,

FIG. 1 schematically shows a part of a dough processing line with adevice according to the invention;

FIG. 2 schematically shows a device according to the invention with thetrolley in the initial position, and

FIG. 3 schematically shows a device according to the invention with thetrolley in the farthest position.

In FIG. 1 a part of a dough processing line is shown, in which in acambering machine (not shown) pieces of dough are given a sphericalshape. Pieces of dough from the cambering machine are transferred to adevice according to the invention. The device according to the inventioncomprises a first conveyor belt 5 and a second conveyor belt 6 which isplaced on the extension of the first conveyor belt 5. The first conveyorbelt 5 has an incoming end 25 and an outgoing end 26. The secondconveyor belt 6 has an incoming end 27 that connects to the outgoing end26 of the first conveyor belt 5, and an outgoing end 28. The first andsecond conveyor belt 5, 6 convey pieces of dough continuously in aconveying direction at a conveying velocity.

In this exemplary embodiment pieces of dough that ultimately reach thesecond conveyor belt 6 are pushed off the second conveyor belt 6 by apushing mechanism which is known per se and therefore not shown, in adirection transverse to the conveying direction of the second conveyorbelt 6 and end up in holders of a dough tray that can, for instance, beplaced in a pre-proofing cabinet.

Although the invention is described on the basis of an invention thatconveys pieces of dough from a cambering machine to dough trays of apre-proofing cabinet, it will be clear that the device can similarly beused for conveying pieces of dough between two other dough processingmachines.

The device according to the invention is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2and 3.

The first conveyor belt 5 has a dough bearing surface 29 for carryingthe pieces of dough 8 and a drive surface 30 opposite the dough bearingsurface 29. The first conveyor belt 5 further contains at least fourdriving rolls 9, 10, 11 and 12, the first driving roll 9 defining theincoming end 25 and the second driving roll 10 defining the outgoing end26. The first and the second driving roll 9, 10 contact the drivesurface 30 of the first conveyor belt 5 and lie in a plane, whichextends almost horizontally, for example. The third driving roll 11 liesbeneath this plane and between the first and second driving roll 9 and10 and contacts the dough bearing surface 29 of the first conveyor belt5. The fourth driving roll 12 lies under the third driving roll 11 andcontacts the driving surface 29 of the first conveyor belt 5. The thirddriving roll 11 lies between the first driving roll 9 and the fourthdriving roll 12.

The second conveyor belt 6 has a bearing surface 31 for carrying thepieces of dough 7 and a driving surface 32 opposite the dough bearingsurface 31. In addition, the second conveyor belt 6 contains at leastfour driving rolls 15, 16, 17 and 18, in which the first driving roll 15defines the incoming end 27 and the second driving roll 16 defines theoutgoing end 28. The first and the second driving roll 15, 16 contactthe driving surface 32 of the second conveyor belt 6 and lie in oneplane, which is almost horizontal, for example. The third driving roll17 lies beneath this plane and between the first and second driving roll16 and contacts the dough bearing surface 31 of the second conveyor belt6. The fourth driving roll 18 lies beneath the third driving roll 17 andcontacts the driving surface 31 of the second conveyor belt 6. The thirddriving roll 17 lies between the second driving roll 16 and the fourthdriving roll 18.

The device according to the invention further contains a trolley 24 thatis reciprocally movable in a conveying direction from an initialposition (shown in FIG. 2) to a farthest position (shown in FIG. 3). Thesecond and third driving roll 10 and 11 of the first conveyor belt 5 andthe first and third driving roll 15 and 17 of the second conveyor belt 6are mounted on this trolley 24. In this example the reciprocal motion ofthe trolley 24 takes place owing to the fact that pairs of wheels 20, 21and 22, 23, attached to the trolley, extend over a guide rod 19.

So as in all cabinets to be able to guarantee that when the trolleycomes into the initial position no irregularities occur during thetransfer of pieces of dough from the cambering machine onto the firstconveyor belt 5, the first conveyor belt 5 is preferably provided withtwo additional driving rolls 13 and 14 placed one below the other andunder the first driving roll 9. The driving roll 13 contacts the drivingsurface 30 of the first conveyor belt 5 and the driving roll 14 thedough bearing surface 29.

The action of the device of the invention can be controlled by adetection means for detecting the number of pieces of dough 7 that areon the conveyor belt 6. This detection means can, for instance, containphoto sensors and be fixedly placed near the transition between thefirst and the second conveyor belt 5 and 6 when the trolley is in itsinitial position. The photo sensors then detect the number of pieces ofdough passing that fixed position. The photo sensors can alternativelybe placed on the movable trolley 24 at a level with the transition fromthe first to the second conveyor belt 5, 6. In addition, the detectionmeans contains a means for generating and issuing a control signal inresponse to the detection of a determined number of pieces of dough, inthis case a number equal to the number of holders in a dough tray.

Preferably the device according to the invention is however controlledby a control signal generated by the pre-proofing cabinet, which controlsignal controls the action of the pre-proofing cabinet. In this way thedevice according to the invention operates synchronous with thepre-proofing cabinet. In this case it is preferable if the device isprovided with a means for detecting a piece of dough on the transitionfrom the first to the second conveyor belt at the moment upon which thecontrol signal is transmitted. If, at that moment, there is a piece ofdough on the transition, then the device according to the invention isnot activated.

The device according to the invention further contains a first, a secondand a third driving means for independently driving a driving roll ofthe first conveyor belt 5, a driving roll of the second conveyor beltand the trolley 24, respectively.

The action of the device according to the invention is as follows.

Pieces of dough 8 are continuously conveyed at a conveying velocity bythe first conveyor belt 5 to the second conveyor belt 6, while thetrolley 24 is in the initial position. When the detecting means detectsthat the number of pieces of dough 7 transferred to the second conveyorbelt 6 is equal to the determined number of pieces of dough, forinstance equal to the number of holders in the dough tray used, such as6, 8 or 12, or when activated by the pre-proofing cabinet, a controlsignal is transmitted to the second driving means and to the thirddriving means.

In response to the control signal the second driving means increases theconveying velocity of the second conveyor belt 6 with an additionalvelocity. At the same time the third driving means start one reciprocalmotion of the trolley 24, so that the trolley 24 moves from the initialposition to the farthest position. Consequently, the distances betweenthe piece of dough which is nearest the incoming end 27 of the secondconveyor belt 6 and that which is nearest the outgoing end 26 of thefirst conveyor belt 5 is enlarged. Because the trolley 24 moves to itsfarthest position, it is ensured that none of the pieces of dough 8 thatare on the first conveyor belt 5 are transferred to the second conveyorbelt.

As a consequence these pieces of dough 8 continue to be conveyed atconveying velocity of the first conveyor belt 5. It is noted that themovement of the trolley 24 does not influence the conveying velocity ofthe conveyor belts.

When, on account of the additional velocity of the second conveyor belt6, the distance between the pieces of dough 7 on the second conveyorbelt 6 and the pieces of dough 8 on the first conveyor belt 5 issufficient to guarantee the reproducible and correct pushing-off of thepieces of dough 7 from the second conveyor belt, the conveying velocityof the second conveyor belt 6 is reduced to nil or almost nil and thepieces of dough 7 are pushed from the second conveyor belt 6 into theholders of a dough tray. The movements are geared to one another, suchthat pushing off the pieces of dough takes place approximately when thetrolley 24 is in its farthest position. After the pieces of dough havebeen pushed off the second conveyor belt, the second conveyor belt isaccelerated again to the original conveying velocity.

Whilst the trolley 24 is moved back to the initial position, the secondconveyor belt 6 is pushed, as it were, under the pieces of dough 8 andan accelerated transfer of pieces of dough from the first to the secondconveyor belt takes place. When the trolley 24 reaches its initialposition again, the following cycle is started in response to thefollowing control signal.

Because the conveyor belts are driven continuously and the trolleyprovides sufficient separation between the pieces of dough andsufficient time for a correct pushing-off of pieces of dough, on the onehand, and because, on the other hand, an accelerated transfer of piecesof dough from the first to the second conveyor belt is realized, thecapacity of the device is considerably upgraded and 8000 pieces of doughor more can be processed per hour.

Depending on the size of the pieces of dough, the mutual distancebetween the pieces of dough, the number of holders of a dough tray, thedesired capacity and the like, the conveying velocity, the additionalvelocity and the velocity of the reciprocal motion can be adjusted, itbeing preferable for greater accuracy that the second and/or thirddriving means is executed as a servomotor.

What is claimed is:
 1. Device for feeding pieces of dough to dough traysof a pre-proofing cabinet, which device is provided with:a firstconveyor belt for continuously conveying pieces of dough in a conveyingdirection and at a conveying velocity, which first conveyor belt has adough bearing surface, and an opposing driving surface, an incoming endand an outgoing end, which first conveyor belt contains at least fourdriving rolls, in which a first of the driving rolls defines theincoming end and a second of the driving rolls defines the outgoing end,the first and the second driving roll contacting the driving surface ofthe first conveyor belt and lying in one plane, in which a third of thedriving rolls lies under the plane and between the first and seconddriving rolls and contacts the dough bearing surface of the firstconveyor belt, in which a fourth of the driving rolls lies beneath thethird driving roll and contacts the driving surface of the firstconveyor belt, the third driving roll being located between the firstand the fourth driving roll, a first driving means for driving at leastone of the driving rolls of the first conveyor belt, a second conveyorbelt for continuously conveying pieces of dough in a conveying directionand at a conveying velocity, which second conveyor belt is placed on theextension of the first conveyor belt, which second conveyor belt has adough bearing surface and an opposing driving surface, an incoming endand an outgoing end, which second conveying belt contains at least fourdriving rolls, in which a first of the driving rolls defines theincoming end and a second of the driving rolls defines the outgoing end,the first and the second driving roll contacting the driving surface ofthe second conveyor belt and are in one plane, in which a third of thedriving rolls lies under the plane and between the first and seconddriving rolls and contacts the dough bearing surface of the secondconveyor belt, in which a fourth of the driving rolls lies beneath thethird driving roll and contacts the driving surface of the secondconveyor belt, the third driving roll being located between the secondand the fourth driving roll, in which the incoming end of the secondconveying belt connects to the outgoing end of the first conveyor belt,a second driving means for driving at least one of the driving rolls ofthe second conveyor belt independant of the drive of the first conveyorbelt, a trolley moving reciprocally in conveying direction from astarting position to a farthest position, on which trolley the secondand the third driving roll of the first conveyor belt and the first andthird driving roll of the second conveyor belt are mounted, a thirddriving means for driving the trolley independant of the drive of theconveyor belts, the second driving means being a driving means forincreasing the conveyor velocity of the second conveyor belt by anadditional velocity in response to a control signal, subsequentlydecelerating it to a standstill or almost to a standstill and thenaccelerating to the conveying velocity, and the third driving meansbeing a driving means for starting one reciprocating motion of thetrolley in response to the control signal.
 2. Device according to claim1, wherein the second and third driving means contain a servo-motor. 3.Device according to claim 1, wherein the control signal is generated bya detection means for detecting a determined number of dough pieces onthe second conveyor belt, the detection means containing a means forissuing a control signal to the second and third driving means inreaction to the detection of the determined number of dough pieces onthe second conveyor belt.
 4. Device according to claim 3, wherein thedetection means is attached to the trolley.
 5. Device according to claim1, wherein the control signal is generated by the pre-proofing cabinet.